Long-time Packers assistant let go by Carolina Panthers

Long-time Packers assistant let go by Carolina Panthers

The Carolina Panthers hired a new head coach in former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales, and it appears that they’ll be shaking up their offensive staff under the new administration. On Friday, the Panthers officially parted ways with offensive line coach James Campen, who has a long history tying him to the Green Bay Packers.

Campen was a player for the Packers from 1989 to 1993, playing in 61 games and starting 47 of those during that stretch of time. A decade after his last game with the team, he joined the franchise as the team’s assistant offensive line coach, a role he held from 2004 to 2006. In 2007, he was promoted to the team’s full-time on-field offensive line coach, a position he kept until 2018, when he also earned the title of run game coordinator.

When Mike McCarthy was fired by the Packers after the 2018 season, Campen was not retained by current head coach Matt LaFleur. Since then, Campen has bounced around the league, coaching the Cleveland Browns in 2019, the Los Angeles Chargers in 2020, the Houston Texans in 2021 and the Carolina Panthers over the last two seasons.

Campen was originally hired to be Matt Rhule’s offensive line coach in Carolina in 2022, but Rhule was fired midway through that season. With that being said, Campen did manage to be one of two coaches who survived the changeover from Rhule to head coach Frank Reich’s coaching roster. Unfortunately, Campen won’t make it to see a third head coach’s staff in three consecutive seasons with the Panthers.

During Campen’s tenure with the Packers, he saw Chad Clifton, Scott Wells, Josh Sitton, David Bakhtiari and T.J. Lang all earn their first Pro Bowl bids in their NFL careers.